Answer

As regards kelp, I'm personally not convinced of any magic properties that it may have despite all the commercial hype.

Sea vegetables as they are called are the latest food fashion and they have been heralded as a rich natural source of organic mineral salts and particularly of iodine.

While it is true that this mineral is important to the thyroid gland in helping to regulate the body's metabolic rate, dietary deficiency of iodine is unheard of in this country today and extra iodine is therefore not required.

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Claims that your nails and hair will be strengthened by the minerals and trace elements in sea vegetables such as selenium, boron, calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron are not borne out by scientific research, as these nutrients are present in many other ordinary foods.

You certainly don't need to worry about hypermetabolism, as you would need to eat an unpalatable amount of kelp before you ran in to problems.

Again the argument that weight loss can be achieved by taking extra iodine to stimulate the thyroid glands is nonsense.

Anything that was capable of this would be clinically dangerous and not permitted as a herbal supplement.

I personally don't think you need kelp and I would save your money.

Spend it on a snappy new tracksuit or leotard for the gym because that is what will really make you look fitter and happier. Go for it!

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